'Trainspotting 2': Danny Boyle Is Pushing For A 2016 Release Date

It’s been 17 years since Trainspotting, the Danny Boyle-directed adaptation of Irvine Welsh’s novel, which managed to wring a coherent cinematic narrative from Welsh’s loosely plotted nonlinear pulp mass concerning the lives of aimless heroin addicts in Scotland. The film was a critical hit and cult hit, and Welsh has even written sequel (Porno) and prequel (Skagboys) novels. And now, after nearly two decades, Boyle is set for a sequel… in 2016.

In a recent interview, Boyle noted that there “has always been this long term plan for Trainspotting 2,” and that if John Hodge, who wrote the Trainspotting screenplay, can “produce a decent enough script” Boyle is sure Ewan McGregor and the original cast will return. “I think they’ll wanna know that the parts are good so they don’t feel like they are letting anyone down.”

Boyle went on to state there is only one criteria for making the film:

“The reason for doing it again is that people cherish the original, people remember it or have caught up with it if they never saw because they were younger. So you want to make sure you don’t disappoint people.”

That said, Boyle also noted that the film will be, at best, a very loose adaptation of Porno: “there’s a couple of things that are based on the book.” In Porno, many of the Trainspotting characters reunite 10 years after the events of the first novel, under the umbrella of the pornography industry.

However, don’t expect the sequel anytime soon—Boyle is pushing for a 2016 release date, in order to coincide with the 20th anniversary of Trainspotting’s original release.